a No. 10 Cal team. However; the bad taste of losses to teams the Bruins were favored to beat (including an embarrassing 27–7 loss to Washington State) raised questions about Dorrell's play-calling and ability to motivate his players. After the Washington State loss, UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero addressed UCLA's inconsistent football performances for the first time, stating "I will be very interested to see how we finish the season. And you can use that." Many took this as a hint that Dorrell's job might be in serious jeopardy. The Bruins would go on to lose to Arizona and Arizona State by a combined score of 58–47, but surprisingly shut out an Oregon Ducks team that a week earlier lost starting quarterback and Heisman Trophy Candidate Dennis Dixon to a knee injury. Heading into the final game of the regular season against crosstown-rival USC, the Bruins still had an outside chance at a Rose Bowl berth that might have saved Dorrell's job; with a victory over USC and some help from Arizona (with a win over ASU), the Bruins could have been the first-ever five-loss team to play in the Rose Bowl. It wasn't to be, however, and the Bruins finished the 2007 Regular season with a miserable offensive performance in a 24–7 loss to USC and a record of 6–6. On December 3, 2007, Los Angeles papers and the Associated Press reported that Karl Dorrell was fired during a meeting with athletic director Dan Guerrero. Dorrell was offered the choice, but decided not to coach in the Las Vegas Bowl. Defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker served as interim coach for the game, where UCLA lost to BYU. Rick Neuheisel era (2008–2011) On December 29, 2007, Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Rick Neuheisel, formerly head coach at Colorado and Washington, was brought back to his alma mater and hired as UCLA's 15th head football coach after his former Bruins teammate Dorrell was fired. Neuheisel coined the phrase "Passion Bucket" during an interview on The Dan Patrick Show by saying, "When you’re at UCLA, you have to have your passion bucket full when you play the Trojans." Neuheisel had his first win on September 1 as the Bruins' head coach as they defeated No. 18 Tennessee, 27–24. The win came in overtime as Tennessee's field goal try sailed wide left. However, the team's momentum came to a halt in successive weeks. A brutal